Wringer



.|. J. WOOD.

WRINGER.

vAPPLICATION FILED FEB'. 27. 1920.

Patented Jan. 25,1921.

\ Inventor.

mes J.Wood.,

ls 2411,. orneg.

UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J'. WOOD, OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNORTO GENERAL ELECTRIC COM- PANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

wn'menn.

Specieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

\ Application filed February 27,` 1920. 4Serial No. 361,824.

The present invention relates to wringers,

and specifically to power driven wringers, and has for its object to improve their oonstruction.

For a consideration of whatvI/believe to be novel and my invention,`"attention is directed to the accompanyingdescription and claims appended thereto. v

In the attached drawing, vFigure .1 is a.

view in side elevation of a wringerembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View; Fig. 3 is an end view look# ing at the right hand end; Fig. 4 is a detail plan View of a portion of the left hand end, and Fig. 5 is a detail view showingl the s arrangement of nut and screw.

The frame of the wringer is made in-three principal parts, a top member 'which also forms a part of each side member and two housings 6 and 7 located on opposite sides which arel secured to the top member. y-The' top member and its ldepending'end'ineinbers 8 and 9 are cast as a unit thereby avoiding extra joints and decreasing the amount of machine work. These members are made of channel or U-shaped section 'which has the advantage ofv great strength for a given weight of metal, and the' further advantage.

of forming a housing for certain of the working parts. From Fig. 2, it will readily be appreciated how-'fully the working parts are inclosed by the frame and itshousing.

The two housings differ somewhat in construction dueto the fact that one of them, in addition to completing one side of the frame, also forms a support for the wringer as a Whole, the object being to provide an arrangement wherebyl the' wringer can be adjusted or moved to different positions, angularly displaced, about a vertical support# ing pivot. Considering first the `one on the left hand side, it comprises front'and rear vertically disposed walls and a connecting end wall 10. The top of the housing has a finished surface which is rabbeted to the depending member 8 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. i The parts are united by screws or bolts 11. which extend through ears 12, Fig. 4, formed on the lower end of the side member' 8. The housing is also provided with an extension or arm. l'which forms the support for the wringer as a whole.l Thev formof this extension maybe varied to suit the washing machine to vwhich the wringer is to be attached, or"'the character of the driving mechanism. Asshown it is tubular and terminates in a flange 14 which is adapted to be bolted to some part of the washing machine that willpermit of its being swung around on a vertical axis without interfering withthe driving connection. The ex? tension may.- be integral with or bolted to the housing' depending upon the type of washing machine to be equipped, or the driving mechanism. a

Inside the housing is a sliding member 15 which is capable of 4vertical movements both in adjusting the tension on the rolls and when the spring tension is suddenly removed, as in case of accident. This member is guided in its vertical movements by' the front and rearwalls of the housing. Its movements in theY direction of the axis of the rolls are limited by the end of the lower roll and by the cross-wall which carries the bearing of its shaft. `The upperend of the member forms a seat for the lower ende-of the coiled compression spring 16, and to prevent th'e spring from being vlaterally ,dls-

vplaced a centering device, such 'as a cylin-k drical extension 17 is provided which fits inside of the spring. The member is also y.

provided with a bearing 18 for the shaft 19 ofthe upper rubber covered roll 20. Below the bearing the member has two forks 21 which straddle thelower shaft 22 of the rubber covered roll 23. Thel purpose in forking the lower end of the member is' to give it substantial length of bearing surface with a cross-wall l24 in which is located a bearing 25 for the lower roll shaft 22. It

-will be notedthat the roll sha-ft bearings instead of being in the same plane are offset one from the other, the purpose being to permit the use of relatively large bearings so as to decrease wear without the necessity of using unduly large and therefore more expensive rolls. On the roll shafts and outside of the bearings are staggered gears 26 and 27, having square shaft openings, by means part of the washing machine 01 by a Sepa rate motor. lBy locating the bearings, gears and driving shaft within the housing and its extension all danger of the clothing of the operator being caught isavoided.

The right hand housing- 7 comprises front and rear vertically extending wallsiwhich are connected by the end wall 35. It is attached to the depending end of member 9 0f the top part of the frame in the same manner as the left hand one above described. Inside the housing is a sliding member 36 which 'is a counterpart of the member 15 and carries the bearing 37 of the upper roll shaft and forms a seat and centering device for the spring 38. The bearing for the lower roll shaft is supported in the end wall 35 and for this purpose the wall is provided with a boss 39 'through which the squared end of the roll shaft projects to receive a hand crank for rotating the rolls when for an reason` it is necessary or desirable.

oth of the compression springs are vertically disposed and are inclosed on three sides by the housings at their lower ends and by the depending channel members of the top frame at their upper ends The springs are put under tension by a pair of horizontally extending levers 40 which have pivots 41 carried bythe top part of the frame. The outer eind of each lever is provided with a depending conical projection 40a which [its into the upper end of the spring and prevents the latter from being laterally displaced. In other words, these projections form centering devices for the upper ends of the springs. The inner ends of the levers rest on the top of a nut 42 which is threaded on the vertical'screw 43, the latter having a hand Wheel 44'by means of which the nut can be adjusted up and down. The front face of the nut is provided with a slot 42c which receives a lug formed 0n the front depending wall of the topmember of the frame and prevents said nut from men of the latch lever.

turning but permitsit to freely slide up ar down.

The rear of the nut 1s provided with a slot 42, Fig. 5, which is closed at its upper endl -and is open-at its lower end. Arranged to enter this slot is a pin 42b carried by the rear depending wall of the top frame member. The purpose of the pin and slot is to provide a stop to prevent the nut from accidentally dropping out of the path of theend ofthe screw, if the handle should be inadvertently rotated sufficiently to disengage the threads of the screw and`nut. The top and depending walls of the top frame member also serve as a housing for the levers and their associated parts by inclosing them on three sides.

On the top of the frame member is a boss 45 having a smooth cylindrical bore in which is located a sliding sleeve 46 which inner end of the quick releasing latch 48 normally engages. This latch is located in a side opening slot in the boss 45 and has a pivot,49. A coiled compression spring 50 normally holds the latch in the operating position shown. The lower end of the sleeve is provided with such a taper that it will,

if accidentally raised above the inner end of the latch 48, force said latch out of the way as the sleeve descends until-the end or toe of the latch can engage the shoulder 47. This is a desirable feature in that it facilitates assembling.

Assuming, for any reason, as for example, that the operator gets a hand caught in the rolls or the cloth gets jammed, the parts may be quickly released byla downward move- This moves the in-- ner end of the latch out from under the shoulder on the sleeve with the result that the sleeve, nut and inner ends of the levers drop, releasing the tension on both springs simultaneously. This in turn permits the upper roll, its bearings and their supporting members to move freely upward, the lower roll remaining inthe normal position. The upward travel of the levers 40,v coiled springs and upper roll shaft under emergency conditions is suicient to cause the staggered gears 27 to move out of engagement with thelower gears 26. This is limportant since itinstantly restricts any pulling or drawing effect on the hand or cloth' to the lower roll only and since the. space between the two rolls is considerable, this effect can be disregarded.

To reset the quick releasing mechanism the handle is rst rotated in a direction to move the nut toward the lower end of the screw which is the normal direction\of movement to decrease the spring tension. After the nut has been movedv to about the bottom of itsv travel the handle, screw, nut and sleeve are raised by an upward pull on the handle until the inner endvof the latch is moved under the action of itsy lifting spring 50 into engagement with shoulder 47. The hand wheel is then rotated in the opposite or tension increasing direction until the nut rengages the inner ends of the levers, after which continued rotation of the hand wheel in the same directionmoves the levers and puts the springs under the desired compression. 'Or, if desired, the screw can be turned until nut 42 travels into engagement with stop pin 42h, after which further rotation of the screw in the samedirection will cause the screw to move up (since the nut can move `no lower) thereby raising sleeve 46, the turning movement being continued until sleeve 46 is raised suiiiciently high to permit the nose of latch 48 to drop under shoulder 47. However, the'former method of resettin isA more rapid than is the one usually fol owed.1

I desire to emphasize the fact that the quick releasing means and the tension adjusting means are combined in one andthe same structure thereby simplifying the apparatus as a whole and reducingl the number of parts. The double spring and lever arrangement has the advantage of permitting the opposite ends of the rolls to independently adjust themselves to the quantity of cloth passing between the rolls. This arrangement also Itends to cause the cloth to pass between the rolls in a straight path instead of a curved path as sometimes happens with a single spring construction.

The wringer rolls can be driven forwardv or backward as desiredby changing the direction of rotation of the driving sha-ft.

In order to convey the water squeezed out of the material by the rolls into suitable receptacles, a drain board or apron 51 is provided which is operative irrespective of the direction of movement of the rolls. This apron comprises a flat sheet of metal having turned up` sides or edges 52. Extending through said sides at the middle thereof are pivot pins 53, the latter being supported in axial alinement by the housings and below the rolls. By this arrangement the apron can be tilted in one direction or the other. To hold the apron in its adjusted positions a pin 54 is mounted in one of the housings, `and fastened to the apron is a l'lat spring 55 havingv a V-shaped projection 56 that is adapted to ride over the pin 54. When the pin is on one side ofthe projection the apron is held in one/inclined position and when on lwringer tothe factory on the one hand, or requiring special tools or equipment on theother. To this end the housings are made removable as above described. The staggeredgears 26 and 27 are fitted to slide on their square ended shafts. The grooved collars 37 of the ball'bearings are' also arranged to slide on the roll shafts so that once the housings are removed, the rolls can be taken out and replaced by relative endwise movements of the rolls and bearings.

I have illustrated ball bearings for the roll shafts because they can be made relatively narrow and of rather large diameter but other forms of bearings can be employed if desired.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have'described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best` embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is y'1. In av wringer, the combination of a frame, a pair of rolls mounted thereon, means fordriving t-he rolls, coiled springs situated on opposite sides of the frame for forcing the rolls toward each other, a lpair of levers pivotally supported on thetop member of the frame, the outer ends of which act on the springs to stress them, and a combined adjusting and quick releasing device carried by the frame, and comprising a nut and screw, said nut engaging the inner ends of the levers, and a releasable latch which normally supports the nut and screw in operative position.

-means for driving the rolls, coiled springs situated on opposite sides of the frame for forcing the rolls toward each other, a pair of levers for adjusting the spring pressure, the outer ends of which rest on the springs, means carried by said lever ends which engage the springs and hold them against lateral displacement, and a combined adjusting and quick releasing device carried by the frame which engages the inner endsv of said levers.

A 3. In a wringer, the combination of a frame, a pair of rolls vmounted therein, means for driving the rolls, bearings for one of the rolls, sliding members which carry the bearings and are guided bythe frame, a combined spring seat and centering device foilL each member, a pair of levers carried by the top part of the frame, a centering device carried by the outer end of each lever, a pair of coiled compression springs, each of which engages a seat and is held top and bottom by the centering devices, and a combined adjusting and quick releasing device carried by the frame which engages the inner ends of said lever. y

4. In a wringer, the combination of a U- shaped frame of channel section, said channel opening inwardly, 'a pair of'rolls mounted in the frame, fixed bearings for the lower roll, sliding bearings for the upper roll, said bearings being inclosed lin the frame', vertically disposed coiled compression springs which act on the sliding bearings and are in-v closed on three sides by the chankel frame, a pair of levers carried by the to member of the frame which act Aon the upper ends of said springs to compress them and are inclosed on three sides by said frame, an adjusting unit which acts on the inner ends of the levers. and is partially inclosed by the walls of the vtop member, a screw for moving the nut which passes through the upper wall of the member, and a'latch which normally holds the screw, nut and levers in position to stress the springs.

5. In a wringer, the combination of a frame comprising three principal members, an inverted U-shaped top member vand two housing members on the sides, each housing member being bolted to a lower end of the top member and forming a continuation thereof, a means forming a part of one of the housings forl supporting the wringer, a pair of rolls in the frame, gearing between the rolls, bearings for the shafts of the rolls which are carried by the housings, vertically disposed coiled springs for exertlng pressure onA one of the rolls which are inclosed on th-ree. sides by the top member and housings,

` and lever means located within the top mem"A ber for simultaneously adjusting the tension of the springs.

6. In a wringer, the combination of a frame comprising three principal members, an inverted U-shaped top member and two housing members on the sides, each housing mem- I b er being bolted vto a lower end of the top member and forming a continuation thereof,

a means forming apart of one of the housings for supporting the wringer, a pair of rolls in the frame, fixed bearings for the 4 shaft of the lower roll which are mounted in the housings and are removable therewith, movable guide members carrying bearings for the shaft of the upper roll which are separate from the housingsbut are guided by the walls thereof, a pair of` adjusting levers Within the top frame member which terminate at their outer ends, in spring centering means, means for moving the inner ends of the levers to change the spring adeach other, and a combined tension adjusting means and quick release for the spring means comprising a nut which acts on the spring means, a screw which is threaded into the nut and provided with a head, a sliding sleeve which surrounds the screw and acts as an abutment for the head, and a releasable :latch which normally holds the sleeve in position to take'the reaction of the screw and when actuated releases the sleeve, nut and tension on the spring means.

8. In a wringer, the combination of a frame having a top member, a pair of rolls, spring means for pressing the rolls toward each other, a combined vtension adjusting means and quick release for the spring means, comprising a nut which acts on the spring means and is held against rotation, a screw which is threaded into the nut and is provided with a head, a sleeve mounted in the top member of the frame, which acts as an abutment for the head, said sleeve loosely surrounding the screw and being provided with an external shoulder, and a latch which normally engages the shoulder and holds the sleeve in place and when released permits the sleeve to move freely.

9. In a wringer, the combination of a frame having a top member, a pair of rolls, spring means for pressingthe rolls toward each other, a nut for adjusting 'the Atension of the springs, a headed screw threaded into the nut, a vertically movable sleeve carried by the member and on which the head normally rests, said sleeve having a shouldery rolls, a combined pressure adjusting means and quick release comprising a vertical screw, a sliding sleeve, a latch for normally holding the sleeve, a nut below the sleeve, means for holding the nut against rotation, and means for limiting the downward movement of the nut.

l1. In a wringer, the combination of a frame, rolls and their shafts mounted therein, gears for transmitting motion from one roll to the other, springs locatedat opposite ends of .the rolls for forcing them toward each other, levers pivotally mounted on the top member of the frame for compressing the 5 springs,V and a combined tension adjusting and quick releasing device which is carried by the frame and acts on the levers, said de- Vice when released moving out of the path ofthe levers to release the spring tension and permitv the rolls to separate suiciently 10 to disengage the said gears.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 24 day of February 1920.

" JAMES J. WOOD. 

